IVORY COAST: Air Côte d'Ivoire

Air Côte d'Ivoire is the national airline of Ivory Coast, based in Abidjan. The company succeeded the former country's flag carrier Air Ivoire,which went bankrupt in 2011. It started operations on 12 November 2012.

The airline was set up on 15 May 2012, as a private-public entity, partially owned by Air France —which intended to make Port Bouet Airport a regional hub — and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). Air Côte d'Ivoire had an initial capital of CFAF2.5 billion, majority-owned by the government of Ivory Coast (65%), with the balance held by Air France Finance (20%) and Aérienne de Participation-Côte d'Ivoire (15%), an airline holding company of AKFED.

The Ivory Coast had had no national carriers since the collapse of Air Ivoire in March 2011.

The airline will have "technical, commercial and operational synergies" with Air Mali and Air Burkina, two other airlines associated with the AKFED.

As of November 2012, it was planned for the new company to have 13 flight captains, 12 first officers and 37 cabin crew. The company projects to have a passenger capacity of 330,000 per year. It carried 253,000 passengers during 2013.

Ownership
As of June 2013, the parent entities of the shareholders are:

Shareholder Interest
Government of Ivory Coast-------------------65%
Air France-KLM------------------------------20%
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development------15%
Total---------------------------------------100%

In June 2013, it was reported that the AKFED will withdraw from Air Côte d'Ivoire as other investors increase their shareholdings in the company.

Destinations
As of September 2012, from its hub in Abidjan the airline had initial plans to operate scheduled services on a network covering nine international destinations in West and East Africa, yet some of them would be flown by sister companies Air Burkina and Air Mali; cities served with Air Côte d'Ivoire own aircraft expected to include Accra, Conakry, Cotonou and Dakar. Operations commenced on 12 November 2012, with the carrier's maiden flight linking Abidjan with Dakar.

As of January 2015, Air Côte d'Ivoire serves the following destinations:

Fleet
The carrier took delivery of its first aircraft, an ex-Air France Airbus A319 manufactured in 2004, in October 2012 on lease from Macquarie AirFinance. During the 2013 Dubai Air Show, it was announced the carrier placed a conditional order for up to four Bombardier Q400s. Worth US$69 million, a firm order was announced in December 2013.

African Export-Import Bank will finance 95% of the acquisition. The carrier plans to use one of these aircraft to replace the E-170 on regional services. The first Dash 8-Q400 was delivered in late 2014. An additional order for two more aircraft of the type was placed in April 2015.

As of January 2016, Air Côte d'Ivoire operated the following aircraft

Airbus A319-----------------------4

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400------------8

Airbus A320-----------------------1

Total-----------------------------8